Trustus' Summer Musical is AIN'T MISBEHAVIN, Beg. Tonight
This summer the Tony and Drama Desk award winning Ain't Misbehavin' returns to Trustus Theatre which premiered the show in Columbia during its second season. This toe-tapping revue of "Fats" Waller tunes will take theatre-goers on an entertaining journey through an evening in a 1930s Harlem night club where "night creatures" revel well into the early morning. This production, directed and choreographed by Trustus Company Member Terrance Henderson (Henderson Bros. Burlesque, Smokey Joe's Café), opens on the Thigpen Main Stage tonight, June 14th at 8:00pm. The show runs through July 20th, 2013. Tickets may be purchased at www.trustus.org.
The outrageously comical and musical soul of 1930s Harlem lives on in Ain't Misbehavin'; a rollicking, swinging, finger-snapping revue that is still considered one of Broadway's best. The inimitable Thomas "Fats" Waller rose to international fame during the Golden Age of the Cotton Club, honky-tonk dives along Lenox Avenue, rent parties, stride piano players and that jumpin' new beat, Swing. Although not quite a biography, Ain't Misbehavin' evokes the delightful humor and infectious energy of this American original as a versatile cast struts, strums and sings the songs he made famous in a career that ranged from uptown clubs to downtown Tin Pan Alley to Hollywood and concert stages in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Ain't Misbehavin' is not only a show that takes audiences on a trip to another time, but it asks audiences to love life and live it. Director and choreographer Terrance Henderson knew that he would need five stand-out performers and vocalists to deliver the sultry energy and exuberance of Fats Waller's music. "I wanted to create an experience for the audience starting first with the energy we're creating within the cast," said Henderson. "There must be a particular energy among the actors that the audience can almost touch when they're at the show." After auditions, Henderson certainly wound up with a top-notch group ready to make audiences dance in their seats (or out in the aisles depending on bar sales on any given evening). Samuel McWhite, who played Stew in last season's Passing Strange, returns to the Thigpen Main Stage as part of the company of Ain't Misbehavin along with fellow Passing Strange cast mates Kendrick Marion, Avery Bateman, and Katrina Blanding. Devin Anderson who was seen in last season's Avenue Q as Gary Coleman rounds out this spectacular group of performers who will fill the streets of the Vista with song.
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